How to use this Page

The Moth StorySLAM Storytelling Series has expanded to Louisville, Pittsburgh and Ann Arbor.

See all the October events here. Although the series already regularly hosts events in Chicago, the organizers will also double the series’ presence in that city. The storytelling slam already runs in New York City, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

Here’s more from the release: “Kicking off on September 27th, the monthly Louisville StorySLAM will take place at Headliners Music Hall on the last Tuesday of every month. Pittsburgh’s StorySLAMs will commence on October 11th and will be held on the second Tuesday of each month at Club Café. Ann Arbor’s StorySLAM series will be held on the third Tuesday of each month at Circus. Chicago’s existing StorySLAM series will be expanded with a new installment every third Monday of the month at the Haymaker Pub & Brewery.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

First Book’s National Book Bank team just got home from Pittsburgh, where they boxed, labeled and shipped 400,000 books to kids in need all over the country, from Jacksonville to Santa Monica.

That’s a whole lot of books – five tractor-trailers full, to put it in perspective. The books all came from Disney Publishing Worldwide, and included some great titles, like ‘Island of the Blue Dolphins’, ‘The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks’, ‘Caterpillar’s Springtime Day’, and books starring characters beloved by many children, like Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse and Hannah Montana.

Shipping that many books in less than a week is a big job, and we couldn’t possibly have done it without the help of some great friends who came out to lend a hand. Volunteers like the local high school Key Club, college students, a Girl Scout troop (they were amazing on sticker duty) and service-minded individuals of all stripes. Not to mention the team from a local KPMG office, whose accounting skills were put to excellent use. KPMG is a major supporter of First Book, and we can always count on their local offices to help us out.

And, perhaps most importantly, our hosts at World Vision, a truly inspirational organization that provides badly-needed resources to children and families in the United States and around the world who have been victims of natural disasters, famine, war and disease. Because First Book has no warehouses, we rely on donated space to temporarily house the books donated to us by generous publishers, and World Vision stepped up to help out in Pittsburgh. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer, friendlier, more helpful bunch of people to work with.

The best part of our book distributions, though, is getting to meet some of the local schools and programs who take our books back to the children that they serve. They always thank us when we fill their trucks and station wagons with cartons of new books, but we tell them that they’re the ones who deserve the thanks. It’s a privilege to help them in the heroic work that they do to each and every day.

So hats off to Pittsburgh. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Add a Comment

First Book is coming to Pittsburgh, and we’re looking for volunteers to help us distribute 500,000 new books to schools and programs serving children from low-income families across the country.

The books are in a warehouse in Sewickley, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh), and we need as many volunteers as we can get to help us box them up and ship them out. Most of the help we need is physical labor: lifting, carrying and sorting boxes. We also need help with some less physically-demanding tasks, like labeling boxes and assisting First Book staff.

We need volunteers from 9 am until 4 pm on the following days:

• Tuesday, May 16
• Wednesday, May 17
• Thursday, May 18

You’re welcome to volunteer for the full day or part of the day. We need 15-20 volunteers at all times, so please spread the word about this opportunity and bring your friends, kids, wives, husbands, neighbors, second cousins and co-workers! (Volunteers must be at least 16 years old).

Help us get books to kids who need them!

To volunteer, please contact Anna Taleysnik-Mehta at First Book (e-mail ataleysnik(at)firstbook.org or call us toll-free at 866-READ-NOW).

You can learn more about First Book and what we do at firstbook.org.

Add a Comment

On  April 30th, Fleeting Pages will open a pop-up bookstore inside a shuttered Borders bookstore in Pittsburgh.

The space will be stocked with independent and self-published writings: books, journals, zines, graphic novels, comics, magazines, e-Books, and book art. Follow this link to submit your work. The store will be open for at least one month.

Bagging the Beats at Midnight: Confessions of an Indie Bookstore Clerk author Karen Lillis explained: “They will sell books by indie presses and self-publishers; hold book-making workshops, readings, and other events; and are open to other suggestions by writers and artists in the indie community.” (Photo Credit: ZeroOne)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

Dear Miss Snark:

We've all heard the daunting statistics. Agents receive anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 queries a year. Some have never taken on a client from the slushpile. Others say they've taken on maybe 4 or 5 over the years. Best case seems to be 2 or 3 a year from the slush. They ALL complain there's simply no time to read and respond to everything sent them.

So why do agents even bother reading the slush? From a business perspective, the return on investment doesn't seem to justify the query process. Why does the practice exist, and why does it continue when agents could easily solicit manuscripts from other avenues such as conferences, contests, organizations, etc.?

I'm not sure what the source of your statistics is but they do not jibe with mine. Fully half my clients came over the transom (not literally, although there was that one girl...) and when I started up, more like 85%.

One of the smartest most successful agents I have had the privilege of guzzling sake with says "there's gold in that there pile" and refuses to even use the word "slush". I look at her sales record and I pay attention to what she says.

Every time I talk to Kristin Nelson, another very smart VERY savvy agent, she talks about how she reads her submissions and finds people there.

I question your data and thus your conclusion.

I've found more clients via the transom then I have from contests, and conferences.

The only source that comes close to the transom is referrals. Publishers or editors or clients who gave my name to people who write well provided me about half my client list right now.

Of the last five books I sold, three were from transom clients, two from referral.

Display Comments Add a Comment